Ricciardo still has 'more to adapt to' at McLaren in F1 2021

Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he still has 'more to adapt to' as he continued to struggle to match the pace of McLaren F1 teammate Lando Norris at Imola last time out.

Ricciardo has finished inside the top seven in the opening two rounds of the season, leaving him seventh overall in the F1 drivers’ championship. 

Despite his respectable points haul, Ricciardo has struggled to stay on level terms with teammate Norris, who has finished fourth and third so far this season.

Reflecting on his first two races, Ricciardo concedes it will take more time for him to adapt to the McLaren MCL35M.

“Ultimately that’s what it is at the moment,” Ricciardo said. “Certainly I would say so far, there is more to adapt to. I mean, I did go to Renault, so I’m not naive to know that a new team is a new challenge, so – I’d say I’d thought the transition would have been quicker, but then it’s race two so I don’t want to be like, ‘I was expecting to be on the podium already’. 

“Maybe by the next race I’m on it. But let’s say at least today [at Imola] my pace wasn’t that spectacular, so I’ll just look at it, work on it. Obviously the reference to Lando is a strong one so I’ll just chip away and do better.”

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl still remains confident Ricciardo will get up to speed, citing Carlos Sainz’s switch to the team in 2019 and the time the Spaniard took to adapt to life at the Woking-based outfit. 

“In general I think that is also something that I’ve discussed in the past like when Carlos [Sainz] was joining us from Renault,” Seidl added. “And we have seen from other drivers, all these drivers are very talented and have a lot of experience, and they adapt very quickly and straightaway. 

“But these cars are complex, and to find these last two, three, four, tenths, but also make the difference when how comfortable they are to push these cars to the limit, that is not straightforward to find and get out of these cars. That takes time. 

“It is not a surprise it is part of the process of integrating a new driver, and with the experience Daniel has, in the experience we have within the team, it is just a matter of a few more race weekends before Daniel is fully comfortable in our car.”